Czapar-Rosko -LRQ

Research Topic: Inhibiting mold growth in bread

Preliminary Research Ideas:

1. Entity to study: bread mold (Rhizopus stolonifer)
2. What can I manipulate or change?
   1. room conditions: temp, light, air circulation
   2. additives to bread
   3. surface bread is put on
3. What effects could I look for? (things to count and describe)
   1. speed (rate) of mold growth
   2. taste
   3. smell
4. What knowledge, tools, and skills would I need to do the project?
   1. know how to bake and initial recipe as well as how it can be manipulated
   2. what are usual mold growth patterns
   3. what could be an edible preservative
   4. how does the preservative effect the taste of the bread

Research Design Table

Research design type is Experimental

Independent Variable Proportionate amounts of preservative ingredient X calcium propionate???	Background Questions What would make an edible preservative? how much of it is needed to work? how much can be added before it alters the quality of the bread? what are optimal mold growth conditions? how best to measure type and quantity of mold?
Dependant Variable Quantitative mold growth rate Qualitative taste (prior to mold growth) look smell	Constants same basic recipe and cook time (serves as growth media) daily checks and photos (same time daily - 24 hr interval) room temp constant (and monitored) lighting same air exposure same container material separation to prevent cross contamination
Experimental Groups & control group	Control: no additive exp group 1: 1/4 X exp group 2: 1/2 X exp group 3: 3/4 X exp group 4: 1 X

Library Research Questions for Inhibiting mold growth in bread

research

Entity: Rhizopus stolonifer
What are characteristics of and ideal conditions for Rhizopus stolonifer? (Always italicize scientific names!)

Independent variable:
What is a good mold inhibitor that is non-toxic and can withstand 400 degree oven temps?
Now: What are characteristics of this inhibitor?
[I understand that the purpose of these research questions is to determine which inhibitor you will use in your experiment. You'll need to also determine the levels of additive to use for your control group. When you find that, will it go in the characteristics question? Probably!--just thinking out loud here.)

Dependent variable:
Under what conditions and environment does mold grow/reproduce best (Specifically, Rhizopus stolonifer)?
What are the most accurate ways to measure bread mold growth and represent our results? (Look for both quantitative and qualitative ways to measure!)

Connections:
How much longer will bread stay mold free (Rhizopus stolonifer) at [ideal mold conditions] when the additive [x amount of x] is added to the bread recipe?

Note: you only need to fix the last question before being able to start note taking! Nice job! ;)

Looks Good! :)~ Dr. Harland (don't delete)

(And yes you can delete my red comments unless they help you!)